Cooling device and method for cooling at least two power electronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10080315-B2
Application number	US-201615275428-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2016
Priority date	Sep 24, 2015
Publication date	Sep 18, 2018
Grant date	Sep 18, 2018

Abstract

A cooling device for cooling at least two power electronic devices by a working fluid. The cooling device has a heat receiver portion of the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system and a pair of thermo-conducting walls provided on mutually opposite sides of the heat receiver arrangement and sandwiching the heat receiver portion between them. These walls are adapted for being thermally connected to a respective one of the power electronic devices. The cooling device further has a heat dissipator arrangement with a heat dissipator portion of the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system and a plurality of fins thermally coupled to the heat dissipator portion for transferring heat from the heat dissipator portion to an external cooling fluid for cooling the working fluid in the heat dissipator portion. The Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system connects the heat receiver portion with the heat dissipator portion for transferring heat from the heat receiver portion to the heat dissipator portion by the Pulsating Heat Pipe action of the working fluid.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cooling device for cooling at least two power electronic devices by a working fluid, the cooling device comprising:
a Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system having tubes of capillary dimension for the working fluid enabling the working fluid to perform thermo-fluidic transport by Pulsating Heat Pipe action;
a heat receiver arrangement comprising
a) a heat receiver portion of the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system and
b) a pair of thermo-conducting walls provided on mutually opposite sides of the heat receiver arrangement and sandwiching the heat receiver portion between them, each of the thermo-conducting walls being adapted for receiving and for being thermally connected to a respective one of the power electronic devices, wherein the thermo-conducting walls are thermally coupled to the heat receiver portion such that in an operating state heat is transferred from the power electronic devices through the respective thermo-conducting walls to the heat receiver portion thereby heating the working fluid; and
a heat dissipator arrangement comprising
a) a heat dissipator portion of the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system and
b) a plurality of fins thermally coupled to the heat dissipator portion for transferring heat from the heat dissipator portion to an external cooling fluid for cooling the working fluid in the heat dissipator portion, wherein
the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system connects the heat receiver portion with the heat dissipator portion for transferring heat from the heat receiver portion to the heat dissipator portion by the Pulsating Heat Pipe action of the working fluid.

2. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises
a plurality of multitube elements, each having multiple parallel straight capillary tubes;
a first connecting manifold at a first heat receiver portion side end of the multitube elements, the first connecting manifold having first connecting passages connecting respective first ends of the capillary tubes in a selective manner; and
a second connecting manifold at a second heat dissipator portion side end of the multitube elements, the second connecting manifold having second connecting passages connecting respective second ends of the capillary tubes in a selective manner.

3. The cooling device according to claim 2 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises a common interconnected loop having a first loop section proximate to a first one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, and a second loop section proximate to a second one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, for reducing thermal imbalances between the pair of thermo-conducting walls.

4. The cooling device according to claim 3 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises a first loop proximate to a first one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, and a second loop proximate to a second one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, the first and second loops being independent of each other.

5. The cooling device according to claim 4 , wherein the heat receiver arrangement comprises a metal block having the pair of thermo-conducting walls provided on mutually opposite sides of the metal block and multiple openings accommodating the multitube elements, the metal block thermally coupling the pair of thermo-conducting walls to the multitube elements.

6. The cooling device according to claim 5 , wherein the metal block is made of one piece or is made of several pieces directly contacting each other.

7. The cooling device according to claim 4 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises a plurality of multitube elements, each having multiple parallel straight capillary tubes, and wherein
a first metal block having a first one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls and thermally coupling the first thermo-conducting wall to a respective portion of the multitube elements, and
a second metal block having a second one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls and thermally coupling the second thermo-conducting wall to a respective portion of the multitube elements.

8. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises a common interconnected loop having a first loop section proximate to a first one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, and a second loop section proximate to a second one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, for reducing thermal imbalances between the pair of thermo-conducting walls.

9. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises a first loop proximate to a first one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, and a second loop proximate to a second one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, the first and second loops being independent of each other.

10. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises a plurality of multitube elements, each having multiple parallel straight capillary tubes, and wherein
the heat receiver arrangement comprises a metal block having the pair of thermo-conducting walls provided on mutually opposite sides of the metal block and multiple openings accommodating the multitube elements, the metal block thermally coupling the pair of thermo-conducting walls to the multitube elements.

11. The cooling device according to claim 10 , wherein the metal block is made of one piece or is made of several pieces directly contacting each other.

12. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises a plurality of multitube elements, each having multiple parallel straight capillary tubes, and wherein
a first metal block having a first one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls and thermally coupling the first thermo-conducting wall to a respective portion of the multitube elements, and
a second metal block having a second one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls and thermally coupling the second thermo-conducting wall to a respective portion of the multitube elements.

13. The cooling device according to claim 12 , wherein the multitube elements are separate components from the first and second metal blocks, the multitube elements being disposed between the first and second metal blocks and being in contact therewith to thermally couple the multitube elements and the first and second metal blocks.

14. The cooling device according to claim 13 , wherein the first and second metal blocks comprise a plurality of openings extending therethrough, one of the multitube elements extending through each of the openings.

15. The cooling device according to claim 14 , wherein each of the openings is formed as one slit in the first metal block and another slit in the second metal block.

16. The cooling device according to claim 14 , wherein the parallel straight capillary tubes of each multitube element are arranged side-by-side in a longitudinal row, a first cross-sectional dimension of each multitube element corresponding to a cross-sectional dimension of one of the parallel straight capillary tubes and a second cross-sectional dimension of each multitube element corresponding to a total number of the parallel straight capillary tubes in each multitube element, the second cross-sectional dimension thereby being greater than the first cross-sectional dimension.

17. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the Pulsating Heat Pipe circuit system comprises a first loop proximate to a first one of the pair of thermo-conducting walls, and a second loop proxima

Assignees

• Abb Schweiz Ag

Inventors

• Agostini Francesco
• Torresin Daniele
• Habert Mathieu
• Agostini Bruno

Classifications

• H10W40/47

  by flowing liquids, e.g. forced water cooling · CPC title

• H10W40/73

  for cooling by change of state · CPC title

• H10W72/071

  Connecting or disconnecting · CPC title

• H10W40/22 Primary

  characterised by their shape, e.g. having conical or cylindrical projections · CPC title

• F28D15/0266

  with separate evaporating and condensing chambers connected by at least one conduit; Loop-type heat pipes; with multiple or common evaporating or condensing chambers (F28D15/043 takes precedence) · CPC title